The present invention relates in general to delivery systems for medicinal and nutritional substances, and in particular to a new and useful system for delivering taurine to the lungs of a people in a selected environment, through a specially designed air filter.
An article entitled "Taurine Protects Hampster Bronchioles From Acute NO.sub.2 -Induced Alterations" by Gordon et al., AJP, December 1986, discloses that Hampsters which were given dietary taurine had improved resistance to the adverse effects of NO.sub.2 which is a component of urban pollution and is included in tobacco smoke. One hypothesis disclosed in this article is that taurine is distributed through mammalian tissues and participates in a variety of biochemical reactions to stabilize membranes, scavenge free radicals, and prevent peroxidative injury. The protective effect of taurine on membranes, and against toxic compounds such as oxidants, is also disclosed in "Taurine as a Conditionally Essential Nutrient in Man" by Gaull, J. of Am. College of Nutrition 5:121-125 (1986), which extends these effects to human subjects.
Recently, the intravenous administration of taurine in patients who had undergone coronary artery bypass surgery, was shown to reduce myocardial damage by producing an antioxidant and scavenging effect. See "Reduction of Reperfusion Injury During Myocardial Revascularization with Taurine Bolus" by Ferreira, et al., University of Milan, Jul. 15-20, 1990.
It has also been demonstrated that the administration of nebulized dimethylsulfoxide, by inhalation, is effective in treating smoke-induced pulmonary injury. See "Treatment of Smoke-Induced Pulmonary Injury by Nebulized Dimethylsulfoxide" by Kimura et al., Alan R. Liss, Inc. 1988. These results were based on animal experiments.
Other published test results have established the usefulness of taurine in producing an anti-mutagenic effect by inhibiting various suspected carcinogenic agents that are found to cause changes in DNA. These agents included reactive free radical species. See "Anti-Mutagenic Effects of Taurine a Bacterial Assay System" by Laidlaw et al., Cancer Research 49, 6600-6604, Dec. 1, 1989.
Air filters are conventionally used in a wide variety of selected environments. In residential and commercial buildings, air filters are invariably including in air conditioning and forced air heating systems. Special high efficiency filters are utilized in environments where dust and other contaminants must be excluded, such as the "clean room" of an electronics manufacturing facility and the operating theater of a hospital.
Small portable air filters are also utilized in conjunction with face masks for use by individuals working in a high dust or aerosol environment where contaminants must be kept from entering the lungs of the individual.